


The Curse of King Plagueis

by monsterleadmehome



Series: Smutty Reylo Oneshots [32]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Archaeology, Egyptology, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Sex Pollen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:48:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22941265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monsterleadmehome/pseuds/monsterleadmehome
Summary: In the summer of 1925, Egyptologists Rey Niima and Ben Solo uncover a strange room inside the tomb of King Plagueis. What happens next is beyond what either of them could ever have imagined.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Smutty Reylo Oneshots [32]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1519934
Comments: 27
Kudos: 256





	The Curse of King Plagueis

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This was my submission for the Babies at the Border charity anthology. Posting now for your reading pleasure... it's basically sex pollen and pyramids LOL. Thanks to my beta, obsessivepropulsive.

Have you heard of the Curse of King Plagueis the Wise? Probably not—it’s an old and long forgotten story. One not often spoke of in Egyptologist or archeologist circles. Sure you’ve heard of the curse on King Tut’s tomb—and possibly some surrounding other pharaohs. But Plagueis was different. His curse didn’t kill anyone disturbing his gravesite, no. It had a much _different_ effect. If you are made of sterner stuff, have a seat and I shall tell you. 

* * *

**June 1925**

“Ben, could you give me a hand with this?” Rey stood precariously on a wooden ladder and tried to pull down several heavy, dusty volumes from the shelf.

“S-sure,” he stammered as he realized that from this angle, he could see directly up her long, navy linen skirt. Of course she had on stockings underneath, but still—the curve of her shapely calves and what they led _up_ to—it was enough to drive him completely mad.

They were both in Cairo for the same reason—to assist on an excavation of a mummy’s tomb. He had come over from Harvard and she from Cambridge, both top of their studies in Egyptology. After the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb two years prior, the field had exploded, but both Ben and Rey were already immersed in the study before that. Naturally, they were both granted spots on the excavation team, a well-coveted position these days.

He had fallen for her the minute he laid eyes on her—chestnut hair sparkling in the sweltering Egypt sun, tied up in three feminine buns, the dusting of freckles across her nose, and that lilting accent. He was doomed instantly. Rey Niima was one of a kind.

“Hang on,” he called as he cautiously climbed the ladder after her. She swung a book down towards him and he grabbed it from her as she reached for another off the shelf. In plucking this new tome out, she used too much force and lost her precarious footing on the rung, stumbling backward until— “I’ve got you.”

Rey had tripped down several rungs, but Ben was a sturdy wall against her, his grip on the ladder tight and sure. He could feel the soft flesh of her rear against his upper thighs and prayed to the entire pantheon of gods that he wouldn’t become hard. 

“Thank you, Mr. Solo,” she managed, turning her head to the side and offering him a slight smile before regaining her balance. “Women’s footwear is not very practical for things like ladder climbing.”

“You should write a letter,” he responded. “Female Egyptologists need practical shoes, too.” He carried the stack of books down the ladder and set them on a nearby table as he watched her descend.

“Too right you are, Ben. Maybe I shall.” She flashed him one of her earth-shattering smiles that made his insides turn to mush. Rey was a forceful storm of a woman, and he was all the more enamored with her for it. His mother was similar, participating in suffragette marches for years and raising him to respect women as more than what society still referred to as “the fairer sex.”

He shook his head at her cheekiness. The best thing about a dig this size was that it could very well last years. They had already been there nearly a month—now if only he could work up the courage to ask her on a date. Preferably before one of the other dashing young archaeologists could jump in. He was particularly wary of Armitage Hux, who had accompanied Rey from Cambridge.

“Are you excited about tomorrow?” Her hazel eyes were bright with anticipation, and though Ben had been dreaming of exploring the pyramids and unearthing mummies for years, he thought he might just be more excited about the potential of working beside her all day.

“I am. Are you?”

“Of course! I know it will be a long process, but I can’t wait for the possibility of discovering something truly groundbreaking.” 

They had already made several trips out to the dig site, but most of the time, the experienced professionals were clearing the outer area. Tomorrow would be the first day they could enter the actual structure—the tomb of King Plagueis. The books he’d been helping Rey with explored the peculiar hieroglyphs they’d seen on the outside of the structure, which neither of them were familiar with.

He watched as she studied the book in her hands, flipping through the pages with a reverent grace. Rey really had a knack for this, he was learning. Not that he didn’t as well, but he was older than she and had studied for a long time. She seemed to be a natural—she picked up on everything so easily and could recall complex translations at the drop of a hat. He was perpetually in awe of her. 

“Oh, look at this,” she pointed at the page and slid the book towards him. 

Their fingers brushed as he scooted it closer to himself and he felt the warmth of her skin, if only for the briefest of moments. When he looked back at her, he could have sworn she was blushing slightly. “It says this glyph could be translated as ‘ardor’? That’s interesting.”

“Isn’t it? I know it was only a partial inscription, but we have the glyphs for both ‘curse’ and ‘ardor’. I’ve never seen the latter before in my studies—what do you think it could mean?”

Ben knew a lot of the ancient pharaohs threatened anyone who disturbed their graves with a curse. It was a common enough practice. But if they were translating this other piece correctly, Plagueis’s curse had something to do with ardor, which just seemed… preposterous.

“Deep in thought, Solo?” A scathing British voice sounded from the library entrance.

“Hux, so lovely to see you again,” Ben deadpanned. He wasn’t sure why, but something about the ginger got under his skin.

“Miss Niima,” he started as he mock-bowed to Rey. She giggled, which set Ben off even more. “Couldn’t find a better study partner?”

“Armitage, you are incorrigible. Ben and I were just researching the glyphs from the entrance to the temple. I think we’ve found a translation.” She proceeded to show him the same book, taking care not to touch his hand.

“No, this can’t be right.” Hux was shaking his head. “That doesn’t make sense.”

Rey shrugged. “It’s the right glyph.”

“Well, hieroglyphs aren’t really my expertise, so I’ll leave that to you.” Hux was a general archeologist, specializing in ancient Greece and Rome. However, he had been asked to come on this project for his skills in excavation. “I merely came to find you to see if you wanted to get dinner.”

“Oh, that would be great! Ben and I are starving.” Rey was always hungry (another thing he loved about her), but Ben didn’t miss the way she automatically included him in the invite, even though he very much doubted that was Hux’s true intention.

“Yes, well…” Hux trailed off, throwing a sneer Ben’s way. “There’s a cafe nearby that hasn’t made me regret eating there after. I was heading there anyway.”

“Great. I’ll just grab my things.” Rey quickly put her belongings back in her satchel and slung it over her shoulder. She mouthed a quick “thank you” to Ben behind Hux’s back as they all followed him out of the library and onto the street.

Soon enough, they were all seated around a table with several steaming plates of food in front of them. A lot of the dishes were heavy, with brightly colored sauces, including a whole fish that was only missing its eyes. Ben noticed a good amount of chickpeas, as well as rice in generous portions and flatbread. He took special note of whatever was wrapped in leaves and picked one up for inspection. 

Rey took one as well. “Oh I love these,” she said before taking a hearty bite. She closed her eyes and let out a tiny moan of appreciation. He gripped the edge of the table a bit tighter.

“Yes, grape leaves. Had a lot of these on my travels to Greece.” Hux was clearly bragging, and Ben couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

He took a bit himself, and found it was quite good—a bit of a citrus flavor rounding off the taste. “Delicious.” Ben licked his finger and thought he noticed Rey watching him with a curious look in her eye.

They managed to get through the meal without fighting, both men clearly on their best behavior for Rey’s sake. He did, however, have to listen to Hux prattle on about all his impressive archeological digs while Rey cooed over his tales. It was positively nauseating. As Ben was deciding whether or not to just throw some pounds onto the table and cut out, Rey spoke.

“Well we should really call it an evening. Walk me back, Ben?”

He stared at her for a beat too long, a goofy smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Of course.” He pulled some money from his wallet and put it on the table, relishing Hux’s obvious defeat. “This should cover dinner. Thanks for bringing us here, _Armitage_.”

Hux’s mouth was nearly a straight line as he grunted, “Don’t mention it.”

Ben held his arm out for Rey to take as they walked out onto the street and back to the hotel where they were currently staying. Tomorrow, once they headed to the dig site, everyone would be staying at the camp nearby, so this was their last night to enjoy the amenities of the rather nice hotel.

The night breeze rustled Ben’s white button down shirt. It was hard for him at first to get used to dressing in lighter colors, but it was completely necessary in the desert heat. Rey seemed fine in her white blouse and navy skirt, humming quietly to herself as they walked. This was another reason he was so gone for her—she didn’t feel the need to fill the emptiness with needless chatter. Her presence alone was soothing to him.

After another minute or so of silence, she cleared her throat. “Thanks, um—for coming along. I didn’t want to be alone with Armitage. I think he’s been trying to court me, and I’m not interested.”

“No problem.” Ben could feel her fingers digging into his arm and had to take a deep breath to center himself. “Any specific reason? Or are you not looking to date anyone?”

He chanced a look at her and stopped when he saw her stare. She flushed and dropped her gaze under his scrutiny. “I thought it was rather obvious that I was interested in someone else.”

“Oh.” His face fell, wondering who this other person could be. Had he seen her with any of the other students? Maybe that one really svelte fellow from Berlin…

He didn’t talk much on the rest of the way back to the hotel, his mind working overtime to try to figure out who Rey was sweet on. All too soon, they were at her room, a few doors down from his.

“Goodnight, Ben. See you bright and early tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Rey.” He was about to turn and walk away, but she rose up swiftly on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. Then she quickly went inside and shut the door, leaving him quite shell shocked.

He stood there for several moments more, the tips of his ears heating up as he brought a hesitant finger to his cheek. It tingled with her touch. Ben smiled and returned to his room. Maybe he could make her forget about this other fellow.

* * *

The next morning, Ben was out of bed at dawn, practically vibrating with anticipation. He was going to get to enter a real tomb today, possibly see a mummy in person, and definitely discover plenty of historically important artifacts. Little was known about King Plagueis—despite being mentioned alongside other pharaohs for generations, his rule only lasted a few short years before a young usurper killed him and took the throne.

They were on the precipice of a large find, he could feel it.

Once he was dressed and ready to go, a knock sounded on his door. He opened it to see Rey, a vision in white and beige. She had on trousers that cut off mid-calf, but wore a very feminine tunic over it with gauzy wraps that made her look like Isis herself. Her hair was up in her three-bun style again, and she had her bag slung over her shoulder.

“You look like quite the adventurer.”

“I feel like one, Ben. It’s very exciting.”

Her energy was contagious, and he couldn’t help but lean in to whisper, “Don’t be afraid, I feel it, too.”

Rey giggled, her cheeks pinkening to a lovely color. Ben’s heart did a little flip in his chest. “Shall we?”

Ben was not a fan of camels. They smelled and spit and—then he saw Rey’s smile as she watched the pyramids come into view—and maybe the camels weren’t _that_ bad. Who cared if the family jewels got a little banged up? It’s not like he was starting a family anytime soon.

“Oh Ben, it’s so beautiful.”

They had been out this way a few times already, but it was true that today _felt_ different. The sky seemed more blue than usual and there was something in the air, perhaps. The pyramids were impressive, but he couldn’t take his eyes off her. “Yeah, it really is.”

They arrived to the dig site, workers already deep into pulling things out of the sand, brushing them off, translating hieroglyphs. Hux greeted them from one of the temple openings. “Solo, Niima, so good of you to join us.”

They weren’t late by any means, but Hux’s tone made Ben’s eye start to twitch. Rey laid a calming hand on his forearm. “Thank you, Armitage. It’s a lovely day to unearth some old bones, wouldn’t you say?”

Hux just huffed and went back to his tools. Ben was grateful for her interception, lest he say something out of line. Something about the pasty ginger always made him lose his temper. “Thanks,” he whispered to her.

“You have to kind of ignore him—he has a way of getting under your skin otherwise.”

“What would I do without you?”

“I’m not sure. How have you managed this long?” She laughed and the sound was almost musical. She had a point, though.

 _I haven’t_ , he thought. “By the skin of my teeth, I assure you.”

She laughed again, playfully swatting his arm. “Let’s get to work.”

* * *

The sun was directly overhead by the time they had entered the main chamber of the tomb. It was dusty, but the air-tight construction meant it didn’t smell musty. More like precious ointments and aged papyrus. The head archaeologist had them break off into pairs to concentrate on specific areas. Ben and Rey had been given an odd antechamber to work in. The walls were covered in hieroglyphics similar to the ones they’d seen outside, including that strange one that Rey had translated as “ardor.”

Ben thought he could almost hear a low thrumming inside the walls—but that was ridiculous right? Still, it was almost like an energy pulsing. He could feel it in his veins, making him just on the edge of too hot. He had already rolled up his sleeves, but now he started to unbutton his shirt a little, just the top two or three buttons.

His mouth filled with saliva, and he watched as Rey stilled the brush in her hand that she’d been using on one of the glyphs. It looked like she could hear it, too. Her head turned towards another corner of the chamber and she started to walk over there, as if it were calling to her. She rubbed the back of her neck as she went. She bent down low. 

“Ben, come help me with this.”

He made his way over to her, watching with rapt fascination as she used her fingers to loosen a block in the wall. There was something there. She was on all fours, and the dirty thoughts started to fill his mind as he stared at the curve of her ass. “Rey,” he growled. “Shouldn’t you be using your tools?”

He came up behind her and slightly covered her with his body. Even with their clothes between them, he could feel the heat from her body. The blood rushed to his groin and there wasn’t anything he could do to stop it.

“There’s something important in here, Ben. I can feel it—it’s calling to me.” He breathing was coming out in little pants.

He placed his hands over hers in an effort to help lodge the block free. They almost had it. She was pressed up against him now, and there’s no way she didn’t notice his erection nestled right up against her. God, what was happening? “A little harder. We’ve almost got it.”

Rey made a noise that sounded a lot like a moan, and he closed his eyes. She was going to be the death of him, he was sure. Suddenly, the block came loose and they both fell backwards with the force of it, Rey landing right on top of him. A sparkling dust was in the air—floating, like it was sentient. It spread out around the room, landing on them and on every surface before the earth started to shake.

“Rey!” He wrapped his arms around her middle and rolled them over, shielding her with his body as the entrance to the antechamber started to collapse. When the dust settled, he looked up. The room was intact, but they were definitely trapped. “Are you okay?”

“No,” she whimpered. “It hurts.” She was writhing beneath him, and he was scared he had hurt her.

“Where does it hurt? Show me.” Ben was getting panicky. 

He lifted himself off of her slowly, but she pulled him back down, flush to her body. “No. I need you, Ben. It hurts—” she paused, taking his hand and sliding it down her body to the apex of her thighs, where it was warm and damp “—here.”

Ben gulped. “Oh.” Now that his worry was dissipating, he could feel it, too. The heat rising inside of him, this intense _need_ to be buried deep inside her. He had already been attracted to Rey before, but this—he wanted to tear her clothes off immediately.

“Please, Ben.” Rey was pleading with her eyes, her voice desperate with want. 

He barely cared that she might regret this later. He slammed his mouth into hers, kissing her hungrily. His tongue explored the cavern of her mouth and she moaned into him, her fingers twining in his hair, her pelvis bucking up to grind against him. Her fingers started to unbutton his shirt hastily.

“Rey, are you sure?”

“Yes. _Fuck_. Ben, I need you.” Her use of such a vulgar word spurred him into action and he started to pull at her wraps.

He sat back so she could join him in helping undress her. She removed her wraps effortlessly and yanked her shirt over her head before her lips were on his skin again. She blazed a trail down his neck to his chest as he took his shirt off the rest of the way. He fumbled with her bra until she unhooked it and pulled it off, allowing her pert breasts to be exposed. 

“I’ve been thinking about this for so long.” He lowered his mouth to one of her peaks and took her into his mouth. 

“Me too,” she murmured, and he couldn’t even begin to process her words.

He laid her back on the dusty stone floor, continuing to lave and suckle at her breasts. His mouth mapped her out, like she was her own precious dig site. He needed to uncover all her secrets. Ben dipped his tongue into her belly button and swirled it around as he undid her trousers and slid them down her legs along with her underthings.

The fire building in his veins wanted him to thrust inside her, but he fought the urge, wanting to taste and explore as much of her as he could—wanting to enjoy whatever the hell this was that was taking over them. His breath ghosted over her bare thighs and the tuft of hair between her legs. 

Rey groaned. “There, please.”

Ben complied, bringing his fingers to run through her folds. She was drenched with desire, glistening for him like a ripe peach. He made a strangled sound as his fingers slipped deeper into her heat. He needed to taste her. He lowered his mouth to her mound, the first tentative lick like a man dying of thirst who’d finally found his oasis.

She was like heaven. He ravaged her with his mouth. Ben wasn’t an expert at this— his past encounters with women having been brief and awkward, but it was like the heat flowing through him told him exactly what to do. He knew with each flick of his tongue that her keening cries meant he was pleasuring her in just the right way. He had two fingers buried in her, thrusting steadily as he crooked them just so and Rey cried out.

“More!” she exclaimed, and he sucked on the bundle of nerves above her opening as he continued thrusting with his fingers. She dissolved with a scream, a flow of something wet hitting his mouth as her whole body twitched, legs shaking, the muscles around his fingers clenching him tightly.

He smirked, knowing he’d reduced her to this quivering mess. She was gorgeous, naked and splayed out before him. He rose to his knees and undid his belt, shoving his pants down and off before climbing atop her again. He was so hard, his cock dripping with the need to be inside her.

“Yes, yes,” she panted, wrapping her small hand around his considerable length. She pumped him a few times. “Inside me—now.”

Ben kissed her again as he nestled himself between her thighs, letting his length gather her juices as he thrust lazily a few times. He groaned at the way their flavors intermingled and hoped she was enjoying her own taste on his tongue. He positioned himself at her entrance and drove inside in one push.

“Rey,” he mumbled. She was so tight and warm around him. It was everything. He pulled back to look in her eyes and saw her pupils were wide with desire. He ran his hands all over her as he started to move. In and out, in and out, the drag of her inner walls like exquisite agony. He already felt the tightening in his balls that meant he was close.

“More,” she crooned against his neck, sucking a bruise into his skin. She was insatiable, but then again, so was he. He’d never felt this way, but the fire in his veins persisted. He threaded their fingers together and began to fuck her in earnest, lewd sounds filling up the antechamber as their hips met again and again.

The pleasure Ben was experiencing was unlike anything else. He could gladly stay in this tiny stone room for all eternity if it meant he and Rey would continue on indefinitely—just like this. The tingles worked their way down his spine and then he was coming with a groan, spurting deep inside her. It seemed endless, the bursts, as he filled her and the waves of euphoria overtook him.

Finally, he had a bit of reprieve as he started to calm and regain his breath. He pulled out of her, but was stunned to find himself still hard, still hungry for more. 

Rey’s eyes widened. “What is this?”

“I—I’m not sure,” he muttered. 

Already he wanted to enter her again, his fingers dropping down to push the come that was leaking out of her back in. But Rey had other ideas. She pushed him backwards until his back was against the wall of the chamber and lowered her mouth to his cock. A swipe of her tongue had him moaning before she took him entirely into her mouth.

“Dear lord, Rey.” How was she so good at this? He loosened her buns the rest of the way and tangled his hands in her hair as she worked up and down his length. 

She hummed around him and the vibrations made him shudder. Then he noticed her fingers buried deep in her cunt as she worked him with her mouth and he lost it. He spurted into her mouth, his vision whiting out as he came harder than he ever had in his life.

Even after that, it still wasn’t over.

Ben thought he could vaguely hear voices outside the collapsed entrance of the chamber, but the fire still coursed through his body and Rey’s. There was a stone slab in the middle of the room covered in more hieroglyphics. He bent her over it as he entered her from behind, relishing the feel of her flesh in his hands as he kneaded her ass. He stuck his finger in his mouth to wet it thoroughly before testing it at her little puckered hole above where he was thrusting into her mercilessly.

“Yes, please. Fill me everywhere,” she pleaded. 

His free hand pressed up her spine, Rey’s face pressed into the ancient slab. Her legs were trembling as he eased his finger in up to the knuckle. He could feel where his cock was moving inside her. His eyes rolled back in his head and he groaned. “You feel divine. I never want to stop.”

“Then don’t.” Her fingers scrambled for purchase on the edges of the slab as he took her from two places.

His finger moved in time with his cock, and he felt it when she exploded, her muscles clenching him even more violently than before as a scream of intense pleasure emanated from her mouth. He increased his pace in both places, fucking her relentlessly now, chasing his own release. Sweat coated both their bodies, mingled with the glittery dust that had covered them when they pulled the block from the wall free.

He kissed her spine and growled as he came again, unsure of how he still had so much seed to spill into her. When he slipped out, he was still half hard, though not as much as before. It seemed some of the ridiculous flame of lust was starting to abate.

Yet...

He dragged fingers across her cheeks where he had just penetrated her. “I think you could take me here. All of me.”

Rey pushed up on her elbows, the want still evident in her eyes. “I think so, too. I want all of you, everywhere.”

He joined her on top of the slab and she crawled to him, kissing him deeply again as she stroked him back to fully hard. This had to be a dream. Maybe he’d wake up and they would both be trapped under the rocks. Maybe he wouldn’t wake at all. 

He couldn’t care about that right now. “Turn around,” he ordered.

She obeyed, both of them on their knees atop the stone. He cupped her breasts, pushing himself into her back and kissing her neck. His hands traversed her body, finally finding her cunt, swollen from their extensive coupling but still very wet. He gathered her wetness on his fingers and brought it to her ass, smearing it all over her little hole.

“I’m going to fuck you so deep, Rey. You’ll never be able to get rid of me.”

She groaned in response as he entered her puckered opening again with his finger, stretching her out. He pulled it out and used his spit for even more lubrication. 

“Never, Ben.” She keened as he pressed the head of his cock to her hole. 

Slowly, so slowly, he pressed inside her. Inch by inch he took it, Rey moaning and encouraging him with her fingers digging into his thighs. It was work, this entrance not wanting to take him as eagerly as the other, but at last he was seated inside her, the tightness almost too much to bear.

“God, Rey,” he breathed as she started to move, his fingers reverently holding her hips in place as he thrust inside her now pliant ass. He felt as if he had reached nirvana, her tight ring of muscles gripping his length for dear life.

He moves his hand around to her front to stroke her swollen bud as he fucked her tight hole. She had her arms behind her grabbing onto him, massaging his sides, fingernails indenting his skin. “Ben, it feels so good.”

He applied more pressure to her clitoris with his nimble fingers as the force of his thrusts into her ass increased. He was close already. They moved in time together, like this was what their bodies were meant for—like this was destiny.

His orgasm took him over quickly and he bit down on her shoulder as he pulsed inside her. She came almost as fast, coating his fingers as she gushed onto him. He withdrew his hand so he could grip her tightly as he came down, sliding out of her puckered hole, the warm liquid dribbling out of her.

He was finally soft and sighed with the sweet relief, no longer feeling the fire course through his veins. Rey sagged against him. “Is it over?” she asked.

“I think so.” He kissed her temple and moved to lay them both down, still cradling her to his chest. He was so tired.

“Pity. I rather enjoyed that,” Rey murmured before she fell asleep on him.

* * *

They awoke to shafts of light starting to filter through the chamber. There were people outside and they were removing the debris. Ben sat up with a start. “Rey, we need to get dressed.”

She nodded and they both hastened to gather all their clothes and dress before the people outside discovered them. Then they assisted in moving the smaller rocks inside.

“There you two are,” Hux said with a sneer after the crew had made a space large enough for them to pass through.

“Here we are,” Rey agreed with a nervous laugh.

Ben was mortified, thinking of everything they’d done in there. At the same time, he couldn’t bring himself to regret it. “How long were we trapped?” he asked.

“Good heavens, did you lose all track of time?” Hux laughed. “It was nearly six hours. The sun will be going down soon. Thankfully, the team was able to get most of the stones clear.”

“Yeah, good thing.” It had been the best six hours of Ben’s life.

Later, he was sitting by himself around the fire, chewing on the mystery meat that had been roasted over the open flame. He was famished after the intense workout today. Rey appeared from across the camp and his eyes followed her as she meandered toward him and sat beside him, a heaping plate full of food for herself.

“So—” she began.

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I know you’re interested in someone else.”

“What?” Rey looked confused. 

“Last night? You said—”

“I was talking about you, you nitwit!” Color rushed to her cheeks, and she covered by biting into a piece of flatbread.

“Oh.” He knew his ears were turning red. Thankfully his hair was long enough to hide it. “I didn’t realize…”

She knocked into him with her shoulder. “You’re alarmingly oblivious. It’s part of your charm.” She smiled at him and his heart melted. It was funny how despite spending the entire day in intimate positions, she still made him feel like a giddy schoolboy. She continued, “I figured out the translation, by the way.”

“What is it?”

“That glyph isn’t ‘ardor’, it’s ‘lust’. The whole thing basically reads that anyone who disturbs the temple will be bound by the curse of lust unless—” she stopped, her face flushing again.

“Unless what?”

“Unless they can be united with their perfect mate. I think it’s supposed to make people copulate until death.” Her voice quieted to a near whisper as she said the last bit.

“But you and I, we’re just fine.” Ben thought about what she had said for a moment, understanding finally dawning on him. “You mean..?” he trailed off, afraid to say it out loud.

She grabbed his hand and threaded their fingers together. “I do.”

“You have a way you want to test that theory?” He smirked at her.

Rey responded with a wicked grin of her own. “Why don’t you come by my tent later and we can see what it’s like when we’re not under a lust curse?”

“Deal.” He leaned in and kissed her sweetly, the taste of their dinner still on their lips. He really couldn’t care less who saw them.

* * *

You see, Egyptologists Ben and Rey Solo were the only known survivors of the Curse of King Plagueis. As such, they let the story fade into obscurity, never talking about it when their findings became public. Later, their team went back into the fallen antechamber and found human remains—skeletons in strange positions, often in pairs. Scholars were reluctant to identify what had happened, but Rey Solo made mention of it only once in her writings. 

_It is my suspicion that the other unfortunate souls who met the Curse of King Plagueis were not as lucky to have their perfect mate along with them when it descended. I was fortunate enough to be trapped with Ben Solo, the man I was destined to be with. That, I suspect is the reason we were able to overcome the curse and be rescued._

And that, dear friends, is the tale of the Curse of King Plagueis the Wise. The moral of this story is simple—be careful when you’re digging around in ancient tombs. And never go alone.


End file.
